


Shine

by LadyLunas



Series: Glass [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-07
Updated: 2013-01-07
Packaged: 2017-11-24 03:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/629781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLunas/pseuds/LadyLunas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki, son of Odin . . . and son of Laufey. When Laufey attempts to reclaim him, Loki has no choice but to go into hiding on Midgard. While attending Culver University, he meets a young woman by the name of Darcy Lewis. Things forever change and Puente Antiguo happens very differently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Journey Big Bang. Beta'd by the wonderful Independence1776.

Looking back on it, Loki thought it was rather apros he met Darcy in the campus coffeeshop. He liked the teas; she thrived on the caffeine. He was a prince of a realm light-years distant. She was a simple human woman from Midgard. Somehow they fit together, even though it never seemed like they would.

The day they met, he waited patiently behind a young woman wearing a colourful straw hat and felt the urge to roll his eyes at the ridiculously caffeinated triple-shot espresso she ordered. She slid to the right to wait after paying so he could order his simple cup of tea. Loki rather liked the calming aspects of the beverage (though he knew Thor would prefer coffee if he ever came to Midgard. The blacker the better.). Then the girl knocked her hand against her cup just after it was set on the countertop and sent it flying all over the counter and him. She froze and turned to face him as his eyebrows crawled up his forehead.

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I just ... there’s this exam and I haven’t had time to study and–”

He grabbed a handful of napkins from the dispenser to blot at his espresso-splattered light blue shirt. The girl frowned at his silence and mopped up the spill on the counter with her own handful of napkins. She retreated to a table with the remnants of her cup, spreading what appeared to be a small library across its surface. And promptly buried her head in her arms.

Loki looked at his stained shirt and glanced over his shoulder at the people behind him in line. His annoyance was mitigated by the look he could imagine on his mother’s face. She would be disappointed if he didn’t do something: ‘I raised you to treat a lady with respect, even if she injured you in some fashion.’ And the spill had been an accident. He glanced over at the girl with her head in her arms and turned back to the barista. Those standing impatiently behind him could wait. He ordered another espresso and then paid for both drinks. The girl looked up only when he cleared his throat. Then she sat up, unobtrusively wiping at her eyes.

“I thought you might need this,” he said.

She took the offered drink with a steady hand and a brilliant smile. “You didn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged and sat down across from her. “But I desired to. You said something about an exam. Believe me, I understand.”

She laughed. “Let me guess - graduate student?”

“Yes, with a focus on Norse literature.”

“Ugh,” she said with a shudder. “Give me good old political theory any day.”

He raised an eyebrow. That was not quite what he was expecting. From her fashion sense, he expected to hear art, possibly creative writing. She just shot him a slightly impish grin.

“I like people and knowing how they think,” she said with a wave of the hand not holding her precious caffeine. “But I couldn’t quite get into history or anthropology and the medical field doesn’t really interest me. I mean, I forced myself to learn basic first aid. You ever need someone to do CPR, I’m totally there, but I couldn’t do it every day. And politics mean I can change the world. Somehow. Some day.”

He listened to her rambling speech as he sipped his tea. He’d tried a new blend today, something with peach. It was not unpleasant. He would have to order it again.

“So anyway,” the girl said. “I really have to start studying.”

He smiled. “That’s fine. I have some reading I need to finish.”

They spent the next two hours at the same table, each buried in their respective books. She was the first to leave, muttering something about class. He smiled and set his book down, but not before memorizing the page number he was on.

“I’ve been remiss in my manners,” he said as she stood. “I’m” – _Loki Odinson_ – “Luke Ovesen.”

She reached over and shook his hand. “Darcy Lewis.”

Loki watched her leave, her long dark hair bouncing against her back from under her hat as she walked out the door. He smiled and returned to his book.

After that, they kept running into each other.

*****

It was just after Father showed them the vault that Loki found himself sneaking in after Thor. His stubborn brother had it in his head that they needed to go back and look around some more. Loki glared and slid through the semi-open door. The guards pretended to notice nothing. Loki knew it was pretend. He’d seen the smiles they hid as Thor attempted to be unnoticeable. Impossible. His brother had started growing and seemed to be the clumsiest person in the entirety of Asgard. Loki was thankful he was the younger one and hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet. That prospect looked to be too entirely unpleasant.

“Loki!”

“I’m coming, brother,” Loki called as he walked down the aisle.

Thor stared around at some of the treasures. Loki shared his wondered gaze. With Father there had not been time enough to explore to his heart’s content. There was so much history behind every item here and he wanted to know it all.

He barely noticed Thor wandering off to stare at a hammer. His attention was again caught by the Casket. Father had explained briefly about its history, but Loki wanted to know more. There had to be books in the library and accounts written by warriors and explorers about Jotunheim. Loki smiled at the thought and vowed to go to the library next. But curiosity drew him and he reached out one hand to touch the Casket.

It felt cool against his skin and the power inherent inside the glowing case swirled around him. Loki grinned and then looked at his hand. It was blue.

_It was blue_.

He jerked it back, biting down a scream. He turned and looked over his shoulder. Thor had noticed nothing, still entranced by that hammer.

“Thor.” No response. “Thor!”

His brother glanced up and strode over, almost tripping once. But he grabbed Loki by the shoulders and peered into his eyes.

“Brother, what is wrong?”

Loki couldn’t stand the concern. He looked down at his now pale arm (how could it have been blue?) and shuddered.

“I need to speak with Father,” he said quite calmly. As if something terrible hadn’t just happened. As if there wasn’t a void of horror threatening his mind.

“Then we shall go now.”

Thor kept his hand on Loki’s shoulder the entire trip to the family chambers. Father would be with Mother this time of day, pouring over the numerous treaties and laws that governed the realm. They slid inside the study.

Mother raised her head first and glanced over. “Boys – Loki? What’s wrong?”

She had to have seen it in his face. Father glanced up as Mother hurried over and wrapped Loki in her arms.

“Am I cursed?” His voice was muffled as he clung to her.

Silence. Then Mother stroked his hair. “No, of course you are not. Why would you ever think such a thing?”

Loki couldn’t find the words. He raised his head and cast pleading eyes at Thor. His brother nodded. Loki buried himself in his mother’s arms again, ignoring the voice in the back of his head telling him that he was too old to run crying to his mother for comfort. He wasn’t grown up yet.

“We snuck into the vault,” Thor said. “The hammer Mjolnir intrigued me - and the Jotun’s casket did the same for my brother.”

Loki was not prepared for the sigh that issued forth from Father. Mother pulled back slightly and placed her hands on either side of Loki’s face. 

“What happened?” she asked.

Her quiet tone helped ease some of Loki’s fear. “I touched it,” he said. “My hand turned blue.” Loki could feel the weight of his brother’s stare on the back of his head. He resolutely ignored it. “Am I cursed, Mother?”

“No,” she said and pulled him tight to her. “No, you are my son.”

“Then what happened?!” It burst from him, and Loki could not help the tears pricking at his eyes.

He could feel her shift to look over at Father. Loki slowly raised his head, too. Father looked tired and moved from around the table to place his hand on Loki’s shoulder. The warm weight of it comforted him.

“In the aftermath of the last battle with the Jotuns, I went into their temple and found a baby,” Father said. “Small, for a giant’s child.” He paused, eye distant. “Abandoned, left there for dead.”

Loki shuddered and buried his head into Mother’s shoulder. She held him tighter. But even that could not stop Loki from hearing Father’s words.

“Laufey’s son,” Father said. “I was tired of battle and seeing you, Loki, seeing you gave me hope.”

“Hope?” Loki tore himself out of Mother’s (Was she now? The thought flashed through his mind quicker than light.) arms, out from under Father’s hand, and glared with tightly clenched fists at him. “How could finding a giant’s abandoned baby be hopeful?”

Loki was crying now and he didn’t care. He heard Thor moving closer to him. He let him. Thor had never lied to him. Never not told him he wasn’t actually their child.

“Because I first thought,” Father said, “that you could help us unite the two realms, bring about a permanent peace.”

Loki stared at him. Even as young as he was, he could not see that plan working. Yet maybe everything he had been told about the Frost Giants were lies, too.

(But why would Laufey-King expose a baby? Even a too-small one? Did his blood father not want him? Was it the battle? Was it–)

“But I did not want that,” Father said. “No, after I brought you home and laid you in your mother’s arms – no, Loki, no matter who you had been born as, you became my son. And I love you.”

“You could love someone who wasn’t born of your flesh?” Loki cried. “A giant’s spawn?”

Father moved around Mother and knelt in front of Loki. He gently wiped the tears from Loki’s face. Loki struggled against the comforting touch. But he could not resist when Father wrapped one arm around his shoulders and drew him in close.

“That has never mattered to me,” Father said. “In all the ways that count, you are my son.”

And Loki cried as his family stood gathered around him.

*****

“I’m done.”

Loki looked up from his upside down perch on the sofa. Darcy stood in the bathroom doorway with only a few hints of runny make-up left. He raised his eyebrows, but remained the way he was if only to attempt put a smile on her face. It didn’t work.

“If it’s not Mom berating me for switching my major two years in, it’s Grandpa drinking himself into oblivion every fucking night–” she stopped and ran her hands through her hair. “I’m getting out of Willowdale, Luke. This summer. I’m applying for every single internship known to student-kind and praying one of them accepts me.”

Loki righted himself as she trudged over to the sofa. He hesitated a brief moment before putting an arm over her shoulder after she settled next to him. Sif would never have tolerated such contact. Sif would never have been in Darcy’s position. And Loki thought his life was a mess. However, it was a mess of a different sort, one far more political than personal (and there were shades of the personal in the political. Only his family could screw up inter-realm relations and threaten to restart a war well over a thousand years distant human-time. It wasn’t even his fault. Except that it was. Sort of.).

“You have the grades to intern with any politician in Virginia,” Loki said as Darcy sniffled.

“Too close to home,” she said. “I want to be as far away from here as possible.”

Loki bit back a laugh at the sudden, completely inappropriate thoughts drifting through his mind. As entertaining as it might be, introducing Darcy to the delicate negotiations between Asgard and Jotunheim was a Bad Idea. If relations weren’t already almost broken, he might have done so, just for the look on Father’s face. Some mischief was worth the trouble that came after.

He shoved away the thought that Darcy would always be worth it. He’d been fighting a growing attraction towards her for some months, just _knowing_ she wasn’t interested. Except that there was a certain contemplative look in her eyes occasionally and more frequent hand-holding and the soft blushes when he occasionally kissed her on the top of her head. And her willingness to go along with his occasional shenanigans (oh, that was a fun word). And his willingness to do whatever he could to make her smile. Her doing the same for him.

“Where have you looked?” Loki asked, shaking himself out of his thoughts.

Darcy shrugged and buried herself closer to him. “Everywhere. Hell, I’m even applying to hard science internships. Gotta get my last six science credits in somehow.”

Loki blinked down at her. Darcy disliked the hard sciences. Well, she claimed they were too hard to understand. Loki had once overheard a lecture through an open door once as he passed through a building. He rather thought it was more a capacity of not understanding how the material was presented in entry-level classes because some professors could not adapt themselves to teach to students outside of their specialties. But Midgardian science was simple to comprehend. He only needed to show Darcy his way.

He half-smiled in an odd amusement at himself. He was growing soft here, considering bringing people up to his standard. He’d long been accustomed to being the only one who could comprehend some obscure fact and rather liked it. Where was his shrewd mind and sorcerous ways? Left on Asgard. Left at home. He was no one important here, a graduate student from England, a simple man with only a studio apartment and its furnishings to his name. And he was the friend of Darcy Lewis. Most days, that was enough.

Today it would have to be, for all that he longed for his mother’s gentle wisdom. She would know precisely the words to say to help Darcy. Even with his silver tongue, Loki could not think of one.

“But I have time,” Darcy said as she rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s only September. I can make it until the end of November to hear back from them. It’ll take me a few new playlists and a lot of LOLcats and Tumblr, but I can do it.”

Loki never doubted it. For all of Darcy’s mortal weaknesses, there was a core of strength deep inside her.

*****

“It is my right!”

“No, Loki,” Father thundered. “You have not yet mastered the magic required to wield such an object, and I will not risk your death because of a foolish risk.” He took a calming breath and sank back into his chair.

Loki balled his fists. He was almost nine hundred, long grown from the mere boy he was when he’d discovered his Jotun heritage. He’d mastered the most difficult magics after studying in distant lands, learned what he could of Asgard and the surrounding realms, done everything he could to please his father (especially with Thor currently banished for his foolish arrogance after _almost restarting the war_ with Jotunhiem - even if Loki could hardly bring himself to care that Angrboda was dead), and his one simple request denied.

“H-h-how can you just deny my birthright, the power that is rightfully mine?”

“The power you still do not yet understand,” Father snapped. His now-white hair gleamed in the firelight. “Next year,” he said. “During the treaty negotiations, I will take you with me to Jotunheim. Perhaps there you will learn something of their magic.”

Loki huffed and crossed his arms. He stared over Father’s shoulder at the tapestry Mother still had on a frame. She’d almost finished it. Power glimmered in every thread. Women’s magic. A slight smile curved on his face. He remembered his apprenticeship and the scandal that raced through Asgard upon discovery of it. Loki had never taken the easy route.

But Father demanded an answer. Loki faced him again.

“What Jotun sorcerer would dare teach an Asgardian prince magic?” he almost spat. “I’ve seen their sorcerers walk the hidden paths of Yggdrasil, met warriors of theirs protecting trade caravans realms away from Jotunhiem - what need would they have to teach me their own magic when they can claim I know it all already?”

“One so ordered by Laufey-King in the name of peace.” To Loki’s surprise, Father smiled. “I do not expect much more than the basics of their magic demonstrated, even if Blyeistr himself was commanded to instruct you. The Jotuns have always been a private people save in warfare. But I believe you are quite capable of discovering more after basic tutelage. And with that, time with the Casket.”

Father stood and walked over to him. Loki started, shocked that he stood taller than Father. Learning magic and traveling the realms had taken him away from his family for too long if he had not noticed these changes.

“Thor might have inherited my strength and courage,” Father said. “But you, Loki, you I have taught wisdom and cunning. Apply those skills in aid to your brother and the two of you will be an unstoppable force.”

_Once Thor returns from his banishment with the knowledge and compassion he needed_ was left unsaid.

*****

“So this is Puente Antiguo,” Darcy said as the bus drove away. “What do you think?”

Loki looked around at the tiny, weather-beaten town in the middle of nowhere, desert, and slid his bare hands into his pockets. “I wasn’t expecting it to be so cold.”

“It’s winter.”

He ducked his head to hide his smile. “So it is.”

Darcy’s hair whipped around in the breeze. She pulled it out of her face and glanced to her right, where a woman who couldn’t be any older than thirty stood. Loki straightened as she walked over.

“Darcy Lewis?”

”Yes?” Darcy said. “Jane Foster, right?”

Loki watched as the woman rolled her eyes. “Do you know any other astrophysicists out here with my name?” She turned to Loki. “And who are you? I only hired one intern.”

”Luke Ovesen,” Loki said and held out his hand for her to shake. She did so with a cautious glance. “I’m a writer.”

“And my boyfriend,” Darcy said with a grin.

Foster whirled on her. “You didn’t say you were bringing anyone with you.”

People passing by were starting to stare. Foster grabbed both of them by the sleeves of their jackets and ushered them to her rather large vehicle. Loki and Darcy scarcely had the time to pick up their suitcases.

“Get in,” Jane snapped. She clambered into the driver’s seat and just waited for them to buckle themselves in after stowing their luggage. Darcy took the passenger seat. Loki settled himself on what he thought was termed a ‘jump seat’ in the rear, surrounded by strange equipment. He leaned forward to examine them, fascinated.

“Your boyfriend,” Foster said as she drove through the center of town. “You brought your boyfriend.”

Loki glanced over at the driving compartment. Foster’s words distracted him from the mysterious machines. He’d left Willowdale, Virginia with nothing further to do there; after graduating, living alone with no one to converse with seemed rather pointless. A trip to the desert would give him direction for a few months. Maybe then he would be tired of living this particular mortal life he’d set himself up as and create a new identity to slip into. 

Darcy sighed at Foster’s comment, but didn’t comment. Loki gazed at the back of Darcy’s head and smiled. She still wore that hat he’d bought her for Christmas. Perhaps he would stay Luke Ovesen for a while longer.

”I brought myself,” Loki said as the van pulled to a stop inside what obviously used to be an automobile dealership. “I have a room reserved at one of the local hotels.”

Foster’s look was only slightly less irritated than before. “I don’t want you coming over and disrupting my work. Or hers.”

Loki refrained from speaking until he clambered out of the van and retrieved his luggage. “No, Doctor Foster,” he said as he looked out the windows dominating the building towards the snow-covered sandy grit and mountains beyond. “I expect to find the desert rather inspirational.”

*****

Loki smoothed the leather of his coat and picked up his helmet. The curved horns glimmered in the firelight. He sighed and doused the hearth fire with a motion. The remaining coals flickered, waiting to be rekindled. Loki slid the helmet on and left his chambers to find Thor standing just outside.

“Brother,” Thor said.

“Thor.” Loki grinned. “Still with the feathers?”

“Cow.”

“ _Boys_.”

Loki and Thor straightened. “Sorry, Mother,” they chorused. A millennium old, the two of them, and she could still quell their antics with a single word.

She looked radiant, Loki thought upon seeing her. All soft shades of gold echoing the warmth in her heart.

“It’s time,” she said softly.

Loki swallowed against the lump in his throat. He’d accompanied the delegation to Jotunhiem the last time the treaty between the two realms was re-negotiated every century or so. But to have the frost giants come here, to Asgard, Loki would rather stay in the shadows. He was not only more useful there, but it would also lessen the risk of his heritage being discovered. Nevermind that he and Father had deemed that risk acceptable a century ago, it was not now. Tensions among the court and even among the general populace ran too high. Odin might have done much in the past centuries to change Asgard’s views on Jotunhiem, but Loki knew: no Asgardian would willingly accept the deception the All-Father had practiced since the war ended. Loki had distanced himself from everyone with his magic, mischief, and perceived ambition. The revelation of his heritage would be yet another reason to distrust and outright dislike the second son. He pretended it didn’t hurt as much as it did.

They walked to the throne room together and took their places on the dais. Loki gazed down at the Warriors Three to the left of the stairs leading up to the throne. Sif stood opposite them, with the warriors of the All-father. Loki approved. She had been tasked with removing the queen if anything were to go wrong with the welcoming ceremony.

Nothing did. That happened three days later, at the day’s end feast.

Loki picked at his food, tired after a long day’s negotiations with Laufey-King and his councilors. Asgard was not quite willing to cede the Casket back to Jotunhiem and risking the frost giants having immediate transport to the other realms that they had once threatened to conquer (Midgard had been far from the first realm Jotunhiem had once sought in creation of an empire). Henceforth, Jotunhiem was unwilling to give up trade concessions over rare and delicate fineries so desired by Asgard. (Yet Loki had told Father for the second time today that keeping the Casket could be disastrous. The younger realms that looked to Asgard for guidance did not nearly have the lifespan of the average Asgardian or Jotun. In all Loki’s wanderings, that war had been viewed as far distant past so that perhaps Asgard should return to the Frost Giants their ancient, beloved treasures. The All-Father had nodded once at the soft-spoken reminders of Asgard’s responsibility to the wider universe and moved the discussion to other topics to be re-negotiated.)

Talk and food flowed amongst the tables. Loki could see Volstagg actually entertaining one of the Jotun warriors by showing the giant just how much of the feast he could partake. Loki looked away. He saw enough of Volstagg’s enormous appetite on an everyday basis. He’d just turned to say something to Mother when the doors to the hall slammed open.

A phalanx of armed men marched in. Their armor looked Asgardian, deliberately made to resemble mail of over a millennium ago. The guards outside the doors were nowhere to be seen. Loki’s stomach clenched as the the leader moved his hands and a barrier of magic stood between them and the majority of the court. Odin rose from his seat and glared at the invaders.

The leader spoke. “All-Father, you have gone too far. My comrades and I have sat patiently for your mistakes to come to light: your denial that Jotunhiem is a threat to the point of negotiating with the creatures, your lessening watch on distant realms still dependent upon us, even your Jotun-born son. Do not think we did not observe that day. And for all these crimes against Asgard, I stand before you and declare that your rulership is at an end.”

Any remaining conversations throughout the room came to an abrupt halt. Asgardian and Jotun alike stared at the men. Loki sighed; he was tired. He did not want to deal with this after a long and trying day.

As the All-father stood firm against the challenge, Loki flicked both his hands in a well-practiced gesture. A shield flared to life around the men, shining green with a few flickers of gold here and there. One of the men towards the back banged his fist on it. The shield held. Another sent a bolt of lightning against it. Loki could hear Thor’s derisive snort even several chairs away. He’d attempted doing the same once during a training bout. The shield had held as it reflected the lightning back to Thor. He’d never attempted it again (and Loki never informed Thor that he could not have held the shield up against a second bolt). This sorcerer was no match to Mjolnir’s strength. The shield remained steady.

Loki dropped the shield when the palace guards surrounded the men. It took moments for them to be disarmed and the sorcerers amongst them cuffed. Loki watched until the hall doors slammed shut and the conversations begin to resume before relaxing. It had hardly been the first time someone had made their discontent known. Asgardians, especially their warriors, were not usually subtle.

“Your Jotun-born son?” Laufey asked. His voice rumbled through the room. Immediately, again, all conversation ceased.

Father looked for the briefest second weary, then he was the strong, commanding man that had ruled Asgard for the past millennia. His single eye stared Laufey down.

“Our adoption processes are quite different,” Odin said. “No matter your customs, I could not leave an infant out in the cold of winter to die.”

“All we demand is three days,” Laufey said. “The boy could have lived and been re-claimed by his birth family. Or been claimed by another and have them brought into the birth clan’s line. How dare you interfere? Do you think we do not mourn those given to the snows?”

“I’ve seen no evidence of it,” Loki snapped as he shot to his feet, temper getting the better of him. “Did _you_ mourn for me?”

Astonishment, then rage, filled Laufey’s face. He rose and towered over Odin. “You stole _my_ son?” His red eyes burned in the golden light of the banquet hall. “Did you raise him with the knowledge of what he is or did you let him believe he was Asgardian until tonight?”

“I’ve known since I was a boy,” Loki said. His fists clenched hard at his sides. “Did I know of the Jotun customs towards the Snowborn? Yes. It was my choice - Odin is my father, not you.”

Laufey laughed then, dark and chill. “By blood you are. For a Jotun, that is what matters. You are my son and no protestations will change it. When our delegation leaves, you will be with us. If you are not, there will be war.”

Loki saw Jotun warriors advancing on him and turned to run from the hall. The warriors pursued. He lost them ten minutes later in the twisting corridors of the palace. Loki knew every twist, every turn, every branching corridor and finally lost them in the general area of the nobles’ suites by ducking into the servants’ corridors. Loki gasped for breath and leaned against the wall after making sure he’d securely closed the door.

A soft squawking cry drew his attention upwards. Father’s ravens perched in a small nook near the ceiling. One of them made the same noise.

“What news have you?” Loki whispered.

“Loki.”

Loki whirled at the whisper, spellfire in hand. He let the spell lapse as he caught sight of his father standing just down the narrow corridor, a pack resting on the floor beside him.

“I do not have much time,” Father said. “Your mother cannot distract them for long after that foolish outburst. But you must choose to stay here hidden or find refuge elsewhere. There is no place any realm that Laufey will not hunt for you. He will stop at nothing to have you as both son and hostage.”

Loki bent his head in acknowledgement. “Then where would you have me go?”

His mind raced. He refused to hide in Asgard and he would be discovered almost immediately if he tried to hide in Jotunhiem. (This day had to have been prepared for. The pack alone indicated that.)

“I suggest Midgard,” Father said. “Use the hidden ways your mother taught you. Use no magic once you arrive- they will be able to track it in such a powerless realm. You will blend in there. When the time is right, I will bring you home.”

Loki nodded and glanced down at his feast clothes. A touch of magic and all he wore was a simple green shirt and black pants that he knew would blend in with Midgard’s current fashions. He looked up.

“Father-”

”Go, son,” Father said as he handed Loki the pack, then clasped Loki’s shoulder. “Never doubt our love for you. You will return to Asgard.”

Loki nodded and stepped into shadow. He took a breath and took a step forward into nothingness of the paths of Yggdrasil. To Midgard.


	2. Chapter 2

Loki sighed as he shoved a bookmark into place and headed for the stairwell leading inside. He wondered occasionally why he decided to read on the roof, but always remembered Jane would accidentally drag him into sorting things if he remained on the sofa. A horn honked, but he ignored it as cool air rushed passed his face as he opened the door and went downstairs. He much preferred the cold of New Mexico’s winter than the already miserable temperatures of late May. Jane and an older man Loki had never seen before glanced over at him from their location on a shabby couch she had refused to replace. She smiled; the man frowned. Loki shrugged, seeing Darcy poking around at one of the workstations with several boxes on the desk, and went to sit at the small table in the kitchen area to wait until she was finished with whatever task Jane had assigned. Their date could wait.

“Luke, I made waffles,” Jane said without taking her eyes off what she was showing the other man.

“Who is he?” the man whispered in a rather too-loud voice as Loki located the pile of waffles under a battered tin and liberated a few. He sat down at the table and dug in. If there was one thing Jane knew how to cook, it was breakfast.

“Darcy’s boyfriend,” Jane said. “He’s the one who wrote my grant proposal.”

“Your intern brought her boyfriend?”

”Erik!” Jane said with a light swat to the man’s shoulder. “He invited himself.” Erik just looked at her. Loki felt his mouth twitch and tried his best to hide his smirk. Jane sighed. “He stays at a local motel and the only time he ever spent the night was back when Darcy had the flu in February. He seems like a good man.”

Erik frowned. “I’ll have to trust your judgment.”

”Trust mine, Doctor Selvig,” Darcy snapped as she flourished a handful of printed photos at the two scientists. “He’s my boyfriend, after all.” She paused and abruptly switched subjects. “Jane, the photo printer ran out of ink again. I just put in the last cartridge. Stop printing so many pictures!”

Jane snatched the photos from her hand and shoved them at Selvig. Loki stuffed the last piece of waffle in his mouth as he decided to call the scientist by his last name. Such blatant disrespect did not deserve anything but basic courtesy. Loki smirked as the man fumbled the photos, prompting a yelp from Jane.

“Don’t drop them!”

Selvig merely gave her a look. Jane sat back on the sofa and crossed her arms, grumbling. Selvig peered at the photographs, blinked, and looked at one closer.

“You did say ‘subtle aurora’,” Selvig said. “I can barely see it.”

Jane leapt off the couch and scurried to one of the computers. “And look at these readings. Every time I see that aurora, I get this. Those pictures are from a few nights ago. And these readings occurred last night but with no aurora. They’re completely different and it’s not normal.”

”Auroras in New Mexico aren’t normal, Jane,” Selvig said as he set the photographs down on the coffee table and crossed to look at the screen.

Loki’s stomach lurched, making him regret eating the waffles Jane had cooked for all of them. An out-of-place aurora or the remnants of the Bifrost? Jane would snap at him, but he deemed the risk necessary. He stood and wandered over to the abandoned photos, brushing his hand over Darcy’s shoulders as she went to the kitchen to claim her share of the waffles.

He couldn’t see much at first. The pattern of Midgardian stars. The slight glow from Puente Antiguo in the far right bottom corner. But the closer he looked, the more he saw of faint tracings of pink and yellow loops in the sky. He set the photos down with unsteady hands.

“Guys–” Something in Darcy’s tone made everyone turn to look at her. She stood at the window that stretched across the front of the building, a full plate in her hands. Beyond her, the street was jammed with vehicles. “–what’s going on?”

Jane turned to Selvig and spread her hands. He gave a shrug.

“It wasn’t like that when I arrived a few hours ago,” he said.

“Then what’s happening?” Jane said and went hunting for the remote to the television they rarely used. A knock on the door accompanied by the doorbell startled them all. Jane humphed and stomped over to pull the unlocked door open. Everyone crowded around her. Loki hung back just slightly.

A man wearing a neat black suit and sunglasses stood just outside. “Doctor Foster, I presume?”

Jane sounded bewildered. “Yes?”

“I’m Agent Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.”

Jane crossed her arms. “And what does the government want with me?”

Loki tilted his head to watch the coming explosion as Selvig winced. Darcy took Loki’s hand as Coulson stepped inside at Jane’s jerking nod. Loki didn’t mind. She looked like she needed the comfort.

“We need you to evacuate this town,” Agent Coulson said.

“Evacuate?” Jane’s pitch hurt Loki’s ears. “I’m not leaving my research. I’m on the brink of something-”

”It can wait,” Coulson said as he glanced around the room. He looked faintly curious. “Have you not watched the local news?”

“We just woke up,” Darcy said. “Early afternoon is kinda our morning.”

Coulson’s mouth twitched into a slight smile. “I understand. Something appeared outside of town just before dawn–”

”–those readings–” Jane hissed to Selvig.

“–a pillar of ice twenty feet high and fifteen across,” Coulson said, ignoring Jane’s interruption. Loki’s stomach swooped and he clenched his jaw at the hint of panic worming its way through his mind. “We’re evacuating Puente Antiguo of all civilians–”

Jane stormed away, back towards her computers. “I’m not a civilian. I’m a scientist.” She motioned at her screen. “And I’m needed here. I have readings that show that something happened early this morning and what you’re saying is proof–”

”We need to confiscate–”

”What!?”

Loki winced. Coulson had no idea of the fury he was about to have unleashed upon him. Jane had once exploded on him, and he still remembered vividly being tempted to use magic to gag her. Only thoughts of self-preservation had dissuaded him. Now Jane looked ready to erupt in righteous indignation.

“Hey, Agent Dude,” Darcy said as she let go of Loki’s hand and stepped forward. Coulson turned to her with a raised eyebrow. It was clear he’d dismissed her as unimportant. “Do you really want to do that? It took me three weeks to learn how to work everything and I know computers.”

”We have scientists on our payroll that I’m sure are competent enough to figure the machines out,” Coulson said.

“I built most of this myself,” Jane said, only slightly calmer. She remained standing in front of the bank of computers with her arms crossed. Loki smirked at the sight. Jane might be tiny, but she could be quite intimidating when she felt like it.

Coulson opened his mouth to say something when his pocket started ringing. He fished a phone out and answered it. He frowned. “It’s started to crack open?” he said. “Then focus on the evacuation. Get the civilians out.”

Loki’s stomach bypassed nausea and went straight into knots. Panic skittered through his mind. Somehow, against all his precautions, the Frost Giants had found him.

 

The frost giants marched into town, six of them, before Coulson could convince Jane to leave her equipment behind. She’d grabbed a beat-up notebook and some charts before Selvig seized her shoulders and hauled her away. She screamed at him the entire time, but still climbed into the van. That was when Loki noticed Darcy had disappeared.

“Darcy!”

“I’m getting my taser!”

Her call came from her room. Across the building. Loki glanced outside at the approaching frost giants and tore after her. He crashed into her as she exited her converted office of a bedroom, taser clenched in one hand. They slammed into the wall when Loki was unable to stop in time. Darcy stared up at him with wild eyes.

“You foolish little mortal,” he hissed and grabbed her free hand. “We don’t have time for this.”

The side of the van was open. Loki shoved Darcy inside as Coulson helped pull her in. Loki jumped in and slammed the door shut. He caught sight of Jane in the driver’s seat – _we’re all going to die_ – and shoved Darcy into the jump seat. She buckled herself in as Jane slammed her foot on the accelerator and tore out of the building. Coulson merely held onto the edge of one of the computer stations and looked as if this was normal. Loki scowled. For him, it probably was. And he was on his phone.

“Hawkeye, move,” Coulson said. “Use whatever you have in your arsenal.”

“Explosives might help,” Loki said. “Ice melts in heat.”

Coulson shot him a look and closed the phone. Darcy gaped up at Loki. She blinked and shoved her glasses up her nose. Her hands remained clenched around the taser.

“Luke, please,” she whispered. “What are those things?”

”They look like frost giants,” he said, struggling to maintain any semblance of his disguise. “From Norse mythology. They have control over ice.”

”So why did they pick an afternoon in late May to invade?” Darcy asked. Loki blinked. That was a good question. But it explained that pillar of ice so well.

“Would the two of you shut up?” Jane shouted from the front. “There’s three more in front of us.”

Loki turned to look, almost hitting his head on the roof of the van. The giants stood in the middle of the road, watching as all the vehicles came to sudden stops around them. Jane turned off the road and drove onto the gritty sand. Loki lurched and flew forward, almost into the front seat, as she hit the brakes, screeching to a halt just before hitting a fourth giant.

“Oh god, oh god,” Jane breathed. 

Selvig just stared out the window at the blue-skinned giant with red eyes now crouching in front of them, holding onto the front bumper so the vehicle could not reverse. Loki fought his urge to melt into the shadows as Darcy tightened her grasp on her taser. Coulson slid out a pistol from somewhere in his suit. Loki hadn’t even seen evidence of it existing.

“You are Jane Foster,” the giant said.

“Yes.” Jane’s voice hardly trembled. She had courage enough for that.

”Your Midgardian science has come to our attention,” the giant said as he reached out and tore the driver’s door from the van. “You will build us your bridge.”

For one brief, glorious moment, Loki felt relief. The Jotuns were not here for him. Then the giant’s words registered. They wanted Jane for her science. All her reluctant explanations over the past two months blazed through Loki’s mind. Muttered things about Einstein-Rosen Bridges and wormholes and auroras in the middle of the New Mexican desert. Loki’s hands curled into fists. The giants wanted her to build them a Bifrost.

Jane screamed as the giant grabbed her and dragged her from the van. Her seat belt snapped, whipping through the air and slicing across Selvig’s face as he leaned over in a futile attempt to grab her. He fell back, blood pouring from his forehead. Darcy struggled with her seat belt as she screamed at the giant that he wasn’t going to get away with Jane. She sprang free of the seat and yanked open the side door before either he or Coulson could stop her. Loki and Coulson exchanged an exasperated look before racing after Darcy and the giant carrying Jane away.

Loki’s feet flew over the ground as the giant headed back towards the broken ice pillar they’d hid in for the past however many hours. There had to be a hidden branch of Yggdrasil there. Loki hadn’t bothered searching. It would have taken magic, even so passive a form as looking. He did not want to be detected. Why had he been so witless? The remnants of the Bifrost echoing in the sky should have been his first hint.

An arrow skittered off the thin air around the giant’s head. It barely paused, then exploded. Darcy lurched to a halt just in front of Loki. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her to the ground as another arrow did the same.

Coulson was on his hands and knees next to them, talking on the phone to someone, telling whoever it was to stop with the exploding arrows because there was some kind of shield. Loki blinked the grit from his face and glared at the Jotun.

He would not let the Jotun take Jane. Darcy would never forgive him. Furthermore, if Jane did succeed in building a second Bifrost, Asgard would come under siege. That alone was worth doing the idiotic thing he was considering.

No more explosions came. The three of them clambered to their feet. Darcy clung to Loki’s arm, breathing hard. Her taser lay on the ground, forgotten. The giant was now not far from the ice hiding the entrance to Yggdrasil’s branch. Grey clouds swirled overheard, almost a promise of unseasonal rain.

Loki took a deep breath and gently pried Darcy’s hands off his arm. He smiled at her and leaned in to kiss the top of her head.

“If I can,” he said. “I will come back. I’ve . . . grown fond of you.”

Darcy stared at him with wide eyes. “What?”

He couldn’t resist. He kissed her and pulled away with a soft smile. “I’m sorry.”

He ignored Coulson’s shout and the feel of Darcy’s bewildered gaze on his back. He walked forward, towards the oblivious giant. With every step, Loki’s anger grew. He had been content on Midgard, even as much as he longed for the golden halls of home. This foolish plan of his had him wrecking everything to save one mortal woman in the gamble that what he was doing would prevent even greater harm from befalling other realms, especially Asgard.

Loki took a deep breath and let it out. Magic flowed through him for the first time in almost three years. Loki’s armour settled upon him. The weight of the leather-and-metal coat and horned helm comforted Loki. He had not quite realized how much he missed being free to be himself.

“Jotun!” Loki called.

The giant turned and regarded him with a rather calm expression, ignoring Jane’s attempts to pull out of his grasp. “What do you want, Son of Laufey?”

” _Odinson_ ,” Loki snarled. “And I want the mortal you hold. You have no right to her and no reason to be here on Midgard.”

The giant chuckled. “You are alone, little prince. There is no father or brother nearby to aid you.”

Loki glanced up at the clouds swirling overhead, dotted here and there with a rainbow of colours. “Oh, I would not be so certain of that.”

The Bifrost touched down, sending a swirl of dirt over everyone. It dispersed, leaving Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three behind, all with weapons drawn. For the first time, the giant looked nervous as Jane gaped in his grasp. 

Loki smiled.

 

Thor charged forward, Mjolner grasped tightly in his hand. The warriors accompanying him followed. The giant’s eyes widened and he wrenched Jane forward. Loki remained where he stood, ready to cast a spell as soon as the mortal was out of his way. Then the giant held Jane in front of him, hand at her throat. Thor and the warriors slid to a halt on the sandy grit of the ground.

“Oh, damn,” Loki said. Then he tilted his head and let a slow smile cross his face. Perhaps this was not the best way to perform a rescue. There was another. And from looking, this Jotun was barely a sorcerer. The only spell he had performed was a simple shield spell.

Loki shifted his weight and flicked a knife into his hand. He took a step forward and teleported. He came out far too close to the giant’s legs for Jane’s comfort. She screamed as he blinked into place with a loud crack. The Jotun had time to look down and Loki to look up. He leapt.

The knife sliced through skin, muscle, and vein easily. The Jotun wailed and came crashing to the ground. He shuddered as his life poured out through the severed artery, coating the ground with blood. Loki watched Jane scramble away from the mess and run to Darcy. The two women hugged as Coulson watched over them with a frown. Loki cleaned the knife with a brief spell and slid it back into its sheath.

Puente Antiguo looked like it was still standing as Loki walked over and he could see no evidence of the remaining Frost Giants. He vaguely remembered explosions and his advice to Coulson in the van. The government agents must have handled the rest of the attack. Thor and his friends intercepted Loki before he could walk over to Darcy.

Thor grinned. “Brother,” he said. “This battle was unexpected. And short.”

Loki rubbed his aching head. Teleportation always wearied him slightly and to use magic after years of not being able – he sighed, too tired to make a jest. “Thor, what are you doing here?”

Thor’s smile fell from his face. “Father is preparing to fall into the Odin-sleep.”

”Then shouldn’t you be ready to take his place as king?” Loki asked.

“I–” Thor swallowed. “I have accepted the throne. Brother, you know I am a man of action. I want to pronounce you regent in my stead.” Loki stopped walking and stared at his brother. “I will be on the field of battle and I need someone I trust to govern Asgard, to perhaps start negotiations toward peace,” Thor said quietly. “Your connection to Jotunhiem could make all the difference.”

Finally, Loki understood. Thor’s arrival just before battle was happenstance. He had come to bring Loki home. No matter he was finishing up writing a novel, two more grant proposals for Jane . . . He said: “I have responsibilities here.”

Thor’s smile was just the slightest bit sly. “Your woman?”

“What? But – no!” Loki said. “She’s not – we’re not –”

”Mother was quite pleased,” Thor said. “The lady seems rather suited to you.”

Loki groaned. Did his mother not have anything better to do than spy on him?

Thor’s smile turned kinder and he opened his mouth to say something. Sif cut him off. She nodded at the group of government agents. “Thor, they’re watching us,” she said.

“Of course they are,” Thor said. “I will go and speak with them.” He grinned at the look on Loki’s face. “Do not worry, brother. I sat through the same lessons you did. I will neither promise anything on Asgard’s behalf nor infringe upon Midgard’s rights.”

As if that helped quell Loki’s fears. His brother was a good man and would be a good king (especially after that banishment of his last century). But his actions tended to speak for themselves and words were always Loki’s domain.

“I will follow within the day. Go make your farewells to your woman,” Thor said. Loki glared. Thor grabbed his shoulders and turned him around to face Darcy, Selvig, and Jane. He laughed as he shoved Loki forward. “Go!”

Loki stumbled forward a few steps before catching himself. He shot Thor a nasty look over his shoulder and held his head high as he walked over. He could do this.

Jane gaped at him and Selvig blinked through the mask of dried blood covering one side of his face. Darcy just stared at him with wide eyes. She blinked as Loki halted a few feet from them, uncertain of his welcome or just what to say to start the conversation.

“Nice horns,” Darcy said with a smile, clearly doing her best to ignore what just happened.

Loki slid off his helmet and held it out to her. Darcy stepped forward, lifted it, and turned it around, running her hand over its smooth curves and touching the tips of the horns. Then she handed it back to him and put her fisted hands on her hips. “When were you planning to tell me you’re an alien?”

Jane choked. Darcy just continued to look at him with a tilted head. He could not help himself. “One day,” Loki said.

Darcy nodded and let her hands fall back to her side. “What’s your real name?”

He smiled softly. “Loki.”

Selvig gasped something out and stared. Loki raised an eyebrow at him and turned back to Darcy.

“Loki,” Darcy repeated. She grabbed his arm, almost jarring the helmet from his grasp. “You have to tell me everything.”

*****

“Father,” Loki said as he entered the All-Father’s chambers as the sun fell.

Father gave a soft smile and motioned Loki over. He squeezed Loki’s arm and let it drop back down to the bed. “You will be a fine regent.”

Loki looked across the bed at his mother. She smiled sadly and over towards the doorway. A guard stood there holding Gungnir as Thor stated he just needed Mjolnir. Loki forced himself to move and take it from the man. The weight of the spear dragged at him, heavy with his new responsibilities.

“Make your father proud,” Mother said.

He glanced back at her and looked back to the spear. He tightened his grip on the polished metal. He would.

Loki found himself in the throne room within the next hour. No coronation, no pomp. It was not fitting in times such as these. With soft steps, he walked up the stairs and sat on the throne.

It dwarfed him.

Loki never expected to feel so small. Here he was, actually sitting on the golden seat of the All-Father (a _frost giant_ on the throne of Asgard), and he closed his eyes to the reality. How was he supposed to make his father proud when all he’d done was exile himself on Midgard for three years in hopes so he could not be used against Asgard? It was folly, all of it. Running had never been the answer. He could see that now.

Loki was regent now and none could gainsay him. He could do what he’d wanted, whispers in the darkest corners of his mind. He had the power and the authority. None could hide from him. All would–

Mother. Loki breathed deep. What would she think? And Thor – all his brother had ever done was stand beside him. Loki might like his secrets and his mischief and his games, but Thor was his link to the goodness of the world. Thor refused to let Loki fester in the dark. Then there was Darcy. If there was one good thing that arose from his stay on Midgard, it was she. What would she say?

Something about laughter and finding joy and commissioning some really awesome music. There was no laughter in taking the throne in the midst of a burgeoning war between two realms. And perhaps something she’d said once in passing, trying to explain to him why she was taking an internship so far out of her chosen field: _I’m not doing this for anyone else. I’m doing it for me_.

Loki sat upon the throne because his family wished it. Yes, he’d desired it in his darkest thoughts and most selfish moments. But this was more than about his errant dreams and more than what his family wished from him. Mother told him to make Father proud. How about he listened to Darcy’s advice and started with what made himself proud instead?

He sat and pondered for hours as the the stars traveled the sky, ignoring those of the court brave (or foolish) enough to come to the throne room and stare at him. Dawn approached as Loki stood. He walked from the throne room and back towards the weapon chambers. His boots echoed in the silent halls. Only the servants and guards were about and all of them did nothing to hinder him.

Loki spent three years running away and hiding to prevent becoming a pawn in a war he inadvertently sparked with one thoughtless action. As regent, he would do his best to end it. He could think of one way that could occur. The All-father might not thank him for it, but at least Loki would be satisfied, truly satisfied, with the choice he had finally made.

 

“Heimdall,” Loki said. “I need you to send this guard to fetch my brother, Sif, and the Warriors Three from Midgard.”

Heimdall looked at Loki with those golden eyes. He searched through Loki’s words, then the guardian nodded. He moved to the dais and sank his sword into the control panel. A tree of lightning leapt forth and the Bifrost cycled into being. The guard Loki had brought strode forward into the rainbow light.

It took fifteen minutes for the guard to reappear, accompanied by those he had been sent to bring with him. The guard bowed and exited the observatory to wait outside. Thor looked around and clenched Mjolner in one hand.

“What is it, brother?” Thor said.

Loki took a deep breath and tightened his grip on Gungnir, hoping Thor would not see his anxiety. “I am traveling to Jotunhiem to negotiate the end of the hostilities with Asgard.”

Thor grinned. “I knew you could do this.”

”Please, brother,” Loki said. “Now is not the time. I have a meeting with Laufey-King I cannot delay. I desired accompaniment and I could think of no better guards than the Warriors Three.”

”And me,” Sif said.

Loki smiled at Sif, but shook his head. “I need you to remain here with my brother, to stand guard if anything goes wrong.”

Sif looked at him with a frown. “As my regent commands.”

Loki nodded and turned back to Heimdall. “Open the Bifrost to Jotunhiem.” He looked at the expression on Thor’s face. “Protect Father and Asgard, brother.”

“With my life if it so requires,” Thor said over the rush of the Bifrost.

“Let us hope it does not come to that,” Loki said. He squared his shoulders and walked forward, the Warriors Three at his back. He heard Fandarel mutter something to Volstagg, but ignored it. Something far more important awaited.

The Bifrost deposited the group in the ruined forecourt of the king’s palace. The bitter wind blasted everyone, tossing snow everywhere. Loki strode forward to the gate, ignoring the chill.

“I have an audience with Laufey-King,” he announced to the guards.

The two frost giants exchanged looks, but stepped aside. The palace was scarcely warmer than outside, but at least the wind did not blow. A servant escorted them to a small chamber. Loki set himself in order, slicking his hair back into shape with a quick spell as Volstagg sampled a plate of pastries and a pitcher of what had to be wine brought not a minute after the door had closed after them. Fandarel peered into a mirror and smoothed down his mustache.

“I must say the wind did dreadful things to my hair,” Fandarel said. “What would any woman say to me now?”

”Some women like the windswept look,” Loki said as he sank into a chair and closed his eyes after settling Gungnir beside him. He needed a bit of time to think, to stop the part of him screaming that this was a bad idea and no good could come from it. Yet his companions would not stop talking.

“Then perhaps I should go to Midgard and find one of them,” Fandarel said. “One like your lady, perhaps.”

Loki opened his eyes into slits. “Stay away from Darcy.”

“Enough,” Volstagg said after finishing off the last pastry. “How long must we wait?”

“Until Laufey-King is ready to see me,” Loki said, closing his eyes again. “We await him at his pleasure.”

”Citizens of Asgard are not to–”

”Fandarel, we are guests in this realm - one we are rapidly approaching a war with,” Loki said, giving up the fight to sort his feelings on what he was about to do. “We will not command.”

Volstagg and Hogun looked at him. Loki gazed back. Fandarel sighed and returned to his mirror. A servant brought a much larger tray of pastries and took the empty one without a word. Loki watched; there must have been an enchantment on the platter so the servants knew to replace it.

They ended up waiting just over a half hour to be called into Laufey’s throne room, enough time for Volstagg to demolish the second platter. Fandarel commented on it as they stood before the door and fell silent as it opened.

Loki strode forward, cape streaming out behind him as he held Gungnir tight as a symbol of his authority. Laufey-King sat on his throne high above the floor, far more imposing than he would be if this meeting occurred in a smaller audience chamber. He loomed over everyone as a reminder to his power and majesty. Loki gazed up at him calmly.

“Hail Laufey,” he said. “King of Jotunhiem.”

Laufey tilted his head slightly. “Hail Loki, Regent of Asgard.”

They stared at each other for a long while before Loki had enough of the silent waiting. He took a single step forward, Gungnir held upright to present no hostility.

“What would it take for you to cease the hostilities between our realms?” Loki asked. With every word he spoke, he reminded Laufey that he was of Asgard, sworn to that realm, Jotun-born or not.

“Hostilities between our realms?” Laufey replied. “The All-father stole from my people centuries ago. Our realm has not recovered. How can we cease our war when Asgard lords itself and its actions over us?” Laufey smiled. ”What are you willing to give to us for peace?”

Loki took a deep breath, very aware of the dark gazes of the Warriors Three at his back. He could see them in his mind’s eye, hands likely too close to weapons for diplomacy’s sake, but it was all they could grant him. He was their charge and they did not like this situation.

“In exchange for, as you say, peace, I request that you cease your demands on the All-father for my return,” Loki said. “I became Odin’s son the moment you cast me out to die. In all ways but blood, I am his.”

Laufey’s eyes narrowed. He shifted on his throne. One of his warriors stepped forward, but stopped at the motion of Laufey’s hand.

“Loki-Regent has offered no threat,” Laufey said. “Though it is unwise for him to make requests such as that when he is on the side of a war that he cannot afford to lose.”

Loki smiled. “I cannot see Asgard losing this war.” He took a deep breath. “What I propose is something that benefits both our realms. True peace and a chance for Jotunhiem to finally rebuild itself to its former glory.” Laufey stood, eyes piercing him. Loki continued talking. “I am not offering myself. I will never do that. But what I can offer is the return of the Casket of Ancient Winters in return for a truce and re-negotiation of the treaty between our realms.”

The sound of the wind outside filled the chambers, barely muffling the squeak of someone silencing another. Laufey’s eyes widened as he stared at Loki. Loki had to struggle to keep a smile from his face.

“And what if we say no?”

“Then Jotunhiem will be crushed under the weight of Asgard’s army,” Loki said quietly. “Without the Casket, you will have no chance for victory.”

Laufey sat back down on the throne. He regarded Loki for a moment, then smiled. “The All-father does not know of this plan.”

”My father approves of war even less,” Loki said.

Words, twisted upon each other. Deceptions and the subtle easing of others into decisions they might not have made otherwise. Loki thrived in this environment. Point out that Jotunhiem would never win a war. Make Laufey think that there was no chance at all. Restrict him to thinking of desiring what he currently did not have. Blind his mind to the obvious – might was not the only way to win wars.

Yet Laufey had been king during the last war. His millennia of experience outweighed Loki’s silver tongue. Loki knew that, but he did not expect Laufey to acknowledge it so bluntly. 

“I could have you held and your guards killed,” Laufey said. “Your armies will be mustered and your brother will lead the charge. Asgard and your precious All-father would be undefended from warriors making their way through Yggdrasil’s branches as our forces meet in battle.”

“You will not,” Loki said, hearing the slow scrape of a knife against a scabbard from behind him. Hogun, most likely. “We come before you under a cease-fire and you will see us safely home. There would be no mercy for you in battle otherwise. For if you hold me, Father will grant you no quarter.” He stepped forward. “And you will not risk losing what I have to offer.”

Silence again. Loki waited with his hands loosely clasped in front of him.

“When the All-father awakens,” Laufey finally said. “We expect the return of the Casket and will open negotiations upon its arrival. Until then, a truce between our realms will hold.”

Loki bowed. “We thank your for your consideration and your hospitality.”

Turning, he strode from the chamber. The Warriors Three fell in behind. They made it to the Bifrost site before Fandarel grabbed Loki’s shoulder and spun him around.

“Are you mad?” he asked.

Loki brushed the hand away. “No. Once I explain to Father–”

”He’ll exile you again,” Fandarel said. “And I doubt it would be to Midgard.”

”The All-father desires peace,” Loki snapped. This argument was over. “Heimdall, open the Bifrost.”

Fandarel glared as the bridge opened and took them away from Jotunhiem. They walked out of the portal and stared. A Jotun body lay on the floor, blood leaking from a stab wound in the chest. He obviously had not long to live. Loki narrowed his eyes and looked towards the doorway.

Heimdall stood in the middle of it with blood leaking from a cut on his thigh. He barely turned his head as the Warriors Three rushed passed him, eager for the fight they could hear outside. Loki stood just behind the guardian and looked at the battlefield the Bifrost had become.

“Report, Heimdall,” Loki said.

“A Jotun sorcerer and twenty warriors appeared out of the air and commenced an attack upon the city,” Heimdall said. “None have yet made it past either me or your brother, save for the sorcerer and two others.”

Loki froze as his eyes took in the battle. His hand clenched on Gungnir. Thor and Sif guarded each other’s backs as the Jotun soldiers harried them. The Warriors Three did not pause; they rushed into the fight.

“Where is the sorcerer?” Loki asked as one of the Jotun soldiers flew off the bridge, aided by Thor’s hammer. He plunged into the raging water and never surfaced.

“He is approaching the All-Father’s chambers,” Heimdall said.

There was no time to think and no time to waste. This attack on the Bifrost was a diversion. Loki _moved_ , the brief darkness of teleportation dimming his vision. He appeared in the hallway outside Father’s chambers - the rooms themselves were warded against any magic invading from outside, teleportation and Yggdrasil-walking included (as the palace was to a lesser extent, except for the weapons vault. Those shields were almost impregnable, even for him.). He took a deep breath, shifted his hold on Gungnir, and entered.

Mother stood as he closed the doors behind him and sealed them shut. The spell would not last long against a prolonged attack, but it would fail with warning.

“Loki,” Mother said as she took in his clothes. “What is happening?”

”A Jotun sorcerer has attacked the observatory and is seeking entrance to Father’s chambers.” Loki’s eyes flicked to his father’s sleeping form. “Where he is vulnerable.”

Mother’s eyes narrowed and she marched over to the foot of the elaborate bed. She drew a sword from its hidden sheath. Loki smiled.

“No one shall pass,” Mother said as she walked to stand beside him. “The All-father will not die this day.”

 

Ice crystals spread in patterns upon the golden doors. Loki tightened his grasp on as Mother raised the sword. The doors flung open and three frost giants walked in, first two warriors and then the sorcerer. Mother slew one of the warriors with a swift slice to the gut as Loki fired a blast of energy from Gungnir into the other. That one disintegrated to ash. Then the sorcerer batted Mother aside as if she was nothing and Loki stopped forced himself to stop thinking about how they’d made it this far and fight.

The sorcerer fired ice; Loki countered with fire. He had Gungnir and his own natural inclination for magic. The sorcerer had centuries, if not over a millennium, of magical combat. Jotunhiem always produced superb battle mages. Asgard, for all its strength, specialized in quieter forms of magic, those of healing and building and protection. It handicapped Loki and it pained him to admit that, even to himself with his centuries of battle experience with Thor.

Mother lay on the floor, watching the battle, clutching one arm to her chest. Loki found himself trapped between his parents, having to guard both at once and leaving him vulnerable. He hissed in vexation and sent illusions to harass the sorcerer. The sorcerer roared as Loki used the moment to help Mother to the bed. She leaned on it and kissed his cheek. He grinned at her and returned to the fight.

The illusions confused the sorcerer, that much was evident. He did not know how to react to them and obviously could not tell which one of the Lokis was real. Loki smirked and blasted the sorcerer into the wall. The Jotun groaned and started to clamber to his feet, sending a wave of ice at Father’s bed. Loki scrambled to get himself in front of it. The wave crashed over him, freezing him from the outside in. His shields barely countered the force of it. The sorcerer was strong. The Jotun snarled and fired another spell.

Loki ducked the spell and threw one of his daggers. The Jotun blinked away to avoid the dagger and returned next to Loki. His fist crashed into Loki’s head, partially crushing his helm, and sending him reeling from the bedside. He tumbled to the floor, head ringing as he forced the helm off. His magic skittered away; concussions were no friends of sorcery. But he kept grasp on Gungnir with one hand and lowered it. The first blast sent the Jotun skidding across the floor. The giant snarled and raised his hand for a mighty spell. Loki did not give him time to attack. Gungnir’s blast sent the Jotun through the wall, tumbling down to the cliffs far below.

Loki felt the swift surge of magic as he leaned through the hole, careful of the dizziness making his vision swim. Damn. He knew that spell. Now where was that sorcerer - he scrambled back from the hole, ignoring his mother’s entreaties, and raced from the room. He needed transport, finding himself too concussed at the moment for a teleportation spell or even a horse. If the sorcerer could not kill the All-father, Thor was the next best thing. Loki only hoped he would not be too late.

When he arrived at the observatory, the battle was near over. Thor fought the sorcerer near the edge of the Bifrost and Sif and Hogun were helping Fandarel climb to his feet. He bled freely from a wound to his leg.

“Get him to the healing rooms,” Loki told Sif. He looked around, ignoring the way his vision swam with the movement. “Where’s Volstagg?”

”Guarding the Observatory with Heimdall,” Sif said. “They’re both injured, but not as severely as–”

”Go!” Loki said and ran to Thor’s side, clenching Gungnir.

Thor grinned down at him as he ducked a spell. “Glad to have you back, brother.”

”Not now, Thor,” Loki said. “We’re in the middle of battle.”

The sorcerer was formidable even at the end of his strength. Loki could see the Jotun tiring, in the way his eyes glanced between the two brothers, the way his hand trembled every time he cast a spell. He gasped out an entreaty for a pause and held up his hands, palm out. Loki dove to the side, dropping Gungnir and taking Thor with him to the bridge, as two ice spears shot through the air where they had been standing.

“Why do you do this?” Thor cried as they stood.

The Jotun snarled. “Because the king is a fool to accept what has been offered. I was there when Loki arrived. Then I decided to act as Laufey would not.”

Loki breathed, watching the sorcerer’s every move, forcing himself to ignore his aching, pounding head. The frost giant was desperate now and desperate men would do anything to win. He slid a knife into his hand and held it out of sight. The giant did not seem to notice.

“Loki, what did you offer Laufey?” Thor asked.

He risked a glance at Thor. “Peace,” he said. “I offered peace between our realms.”

“There is no peace in compromise!” the sorcerer screamed as he rushed forward. Loki’s eyes widened at the sight of the ice sword in the Jotun’s hands. Thor was already moving to the side, but the sorcerer had already corrected himself for that action.

Time slowed for Loki. He used his all the magic he could reach and willed himself between the blade and Thor, a teleportation that used up every bit of his concentration. The blade bit into his side, but Loki knew it would. His hand flicked out, throwing the knife into the sorcerer’s eye. The Jotun stumbled back and collapsed to the ground, one last spell uttering from his lips before he died.

Loki found himself blasted off the Bifrost, falling towards the raging waters below, Gungnir fallen on the bridge. The sword tumbled from his side and melted. Loki saw the waters and felt the blood flowing and someone grabbing his battered cape before he could fall much further. The jerk sent black spots through his vision. He looked up after they cleared.

Thor hung half-off the Bifrost with one hand tangled in the end of Loki’s cape. Loki stared at the somewhat ridiculous sight and then barked out a laugh. He cut it off instantly, the pain in his side much worse. He clenched at the wound with his hands, soaking them with blood.

“Brother, grab hold!”

Loki lifted his right arm and scrambled to reach Thor’s wrist. If he could hold on . . . but he could not reach so far. The cape was too long. Think, Loki, _think_. They both had been in worse predicaments on their madcap youthful adventures.

“Thor,” he screamed. “Pull me up!”

He could only hope his brother heard. He had. Loki smiled and held an arm against his side. The pressure slowed the bleeding. It was not an instantly fatal wound, Loki felt. The blood came out too slowly for that. A small relief. His head pounded.

Then Loki heard a blood-chilling sound. He stared up at Thor and his grasp on Loki’s cape. The material was strong. But not strong enough to stand through battle, the force of gravity, his own dead weight, and the strength of Thor’s grip on the end of it. The fabric began to tear.

“No,” Thor said and began to lift upward. It was slow work and difficult. Thor only had one arm free to prevent himself from sliding off the Bifrost and carried a dead weight in the other. But it was working. Loki almost held his breath, but it would not help. He reached inside himself, but found only dregs of magic. He used them to temporarily knit his side together and reached above his head to grasp the cape with both hands, staining the fabric with his blood.

Thor continued pulling Loki up. They both froze as the fabric ripped further. Loki blinked and looked up at his brother.

“Thor-”

”I will not let you fall, Loki,” Thor said.

“And neither will I,” said a voice that neither of them expected to hear. Father appeared next to Thor in all his glorious golden armour. “Grab hold of Gungnir.”

Loki reached out and grabbed his father’s spear with both hands. They slipped, seeking purchase. Loki’s hold on his cape had not absorbed all the blood. His hands scrambled as all heard the cape tearing further.

One hand caught the very end of the staff as the cape tore completely. It hung from Thor’s fist like a banner. Loki clenched harder on Gungnir as Father pulled him up.

Then his hands slipped.

Loki’s last sight was of the horror on Thor’s and his father’s faces. He plunged into the waters flowing over the edge of Asgard and swept along towards the waterfall. He slid over the edge, the water fading around him, leaving him to fall into the nothingness between the branches of Yggdrasil. He wrapped a spell around himself, protection from the vacuum, and gathered the wisps of his strength heedless of his concussion.

He teleported himself blindly into the void, hoping to land somewhere safe so he could heal. So he could return home.

He came out into darkness dotted by the light of distant stars. And still fell.

*****

Darcy waited weeks with only occasional visits by Thor and the other warriors. Agent Coulson from SHIELD had somehow managed to build a base nearby, even though he claimed it was temporary.

Right. Like the government could build something temporary. SHIELD had found Jane’s research useful and Darcy just knew all of them would be absorbed into the agency. Sure, Jane was ecstatic over the funding - and threatened both Erik and Darcy with everything from snakes in their beds to the termination of the internship (or a one-way ticket back to Tromsø) - and seemed happier than she had ever been. Except for when Thor came by on his weekly visit, of course.

They’d all grown used to the way the Bifrost touched down outside of town, a tunnel of cloud and rainbow. Jane’s jubilant self leapt off the ground way too many times and Darcy just hung back and made sure all the recording machines were working. She was the intern. It was her job. And after hearing Thor’s original news about Loki . . . being the intern was all she could really do at the moment. Kept her from thinking.

Thor had also said something about a battle and recovery efforts and a truce with the Frost Giants and she’d stopped listening about then to go mutter a machine that Jane relied on and had just started beeping. And seriously, had he forgotten the giants had tried to kidnap Jane? She hadn’t. And how the hell had they even found out about her? From what she’d overheard Thor telling Coulson, they hadn’t had the most reliable of transportation from realm to realm.

She could just imagine the look on Luke’s face when he’d heard Thor attempt to explain the intricacies of inter-realm politics to her – no, his name was Loki. Loki. He’d given her a five-minute synopsis of his crazy life before leaving for Asgard. On a freaking rainbow bridge. And he was a prince. Darcy found herself giggling at random times over that for the first few weeks. She’d dated a genuine prince. Not a Disney prince. Oh, he was not nice enough for that. His sense of humour was biting and he used his words like weapons. Darcy had never quite figured out why he’d bought her that coffee instead of making some snide remark that day they’d met. He’d never told her. And Darcy knew she’d never find out. Ever. Because this morning Thor had said all their rescue efforts to retrieve Loki had failed. He’d said it in kinder words and far gentler, but that was what it came down to. He wasn’t coming back.

She sniffled and wiped at her tears with her sleeve. She was not distracting Jane from her research. She’d done enough of that lately. Darcy was not going to let this take over her life. 

Jane and Erik left her alone the rest of the day. Darcy buried herself in her work, inputting data and stuff into the computers. She had to do something to keep her mind off what happened. It didn’t work too well, especially when she saw the small cardboard box Coulson had left for her after he and Thor had cleared out Loki’s hotel room after lunch. But dinner came and went and she had no choice because Jane had forbidden her from doing anything in the field that night. She was left home with the Internet and that box.

It took every bit of Darcy’s courage and the memory of laughing green eyes to force her to open the thing. It was stuffed with handwritten notes for his thesis, often comments on Snurlson and his strange interpretations of the myths. Remembering that Loki had forced her to read his thesis, his _fiction_ thesis, Darcy pressed the notes to her chest. He’d corrected the legends with the truth and she hadn’t even known. She got her tears under control. If she started crying now, she’d never make it to the bottom of the thing.

There were pictures of the two of them. Some she remembered (dragging Loki to an interactive showing of Rocky Horror had been the Best. Thing. Ever.) and some she didn’t. Candid shots of one or the other of them, or both. There was a single piece of chalk (if they’d been caught, they’d have been in such trouble). And there was an unsealed envelope at the bottom with her name written on it partway underneath a simple, small, carved wooden box.

Darcy pulled the flap out and opened the envelope, grabbing at the paper tucked inside. She yanked it out and unfolded it, almost tearing the paper in her haste. It was dated a few weeks after they’d arrived in New Mexico.

_Darcy,_

_I owe you far more than a simple letter. Your friendship, love, and trust mean more to me than all the treasures of all the realms. I can never repay or thank you enough for what you have done for me._

_I could feel my time was nearing as we arrived at Puente Antiguo. I am unable to remain in one place for too long and cannot abide boredom. I saw myself when we arrived and I could see myself walking away after a week here, leaving you behind. Leaving Luke Ovesen behind. Yet you had somehow managed to convince me to remain in this town, doing nothing day to day but staring out at the desert and up at the stars. Strangely, I was content, knowing you were doing the same. That is when I realized just how much I care for you._

_I care enough about you to trust you with the truth. My truth. I feel safe writing this down, hoping you will take it better than if I tell you and depart. I am called Silvertongue for a reason, and Liesmith. But I am Loki Odinson first above all the titles and names attached to my person. I only hope that there is enough wonder in your mind to accept all of who I am._

_I cannot stay on Midgard forever. One day, I will be called home to Asgard. When that day comes, I will have no choice but to walk out of your life._

_I only wish I was brave enough to tell you in person. I cherish you, Darcy Lewis, and even as the centuries pass and no one on Midgard is alive to remember you, I always will._

 _Loki_

Darcy folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. She set it aside and grabbed the small wood one. She frowned down at it; she’d never seen it before. Practically everything else that Thor had given her she recognized. She lifted the lid and stared at a golden ring with a green stone in a simple flower-like setting. The ring glinted in the overhead lights. Tears pricked at her eyes as she picked it up. Darcy slid the ring onto her left ring finger. It fit almost perfectly. She gazed down at it for a moment before taking it off and moving it to her other hand. She didn’t know what he’d intended it for, but she would wear it all the same.

She lifted her head and went to the back door, slipping outside to stare up at the stars. Thor had said Heimdall lost sight of Loki. But in Loki’s thesis - no, his life’s story -, there were mentions of ways around that all-seeing gaze. He could be alive out there somewhere, hidden. And Darcy would give everything she had to help Jane make a rainbow bridge to bring him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of a seven-part series.


End file.
